Same As Teaching: How to Simplify Defensive Football Installs

When you first watch Wisconsin-Platteville’s defense run around, it might look like chaos. To Defensive Coordinator Dan Bauder, that’s the point, organized chaos. Behind the stunts, blitzes, and pressures is a simple teaching philosophy borrowed from some of the game’s best: “same as” teaching.

Bauder explains, “At the end of the day, it’s not really what I know or the rest of the coaches know, it’s what the kids know. They all have these small, hard drives inside their helmets, and they can only handle a certain amount of information. If you allow those guys to play fast and be who they are, you’re going to be in a lot better position.”

Start With the Parent Call

The foundation of Bauder’s system is what he calls the “parent coverage.” Whether it’s Cover 3, quarters, or Tampa, the first install starts with the entire defense in the same room. Linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs all hear the same terminology and receive the same teaching points.

From there, every adjustment becomes a variation: “same as” the parent call. A blitz may now be set to the tight end instead of the field, or a drop may adjust to the quarterback’s throwing arm instead of the backfield set, but the teaching framework remains the same.

That shared language eliminates bottlenecks. Players don’t feel like they’re learning something brand new; they see the connections and recall what they already know.

Five Touches on Every Install

Bauder’s process ensures players don’t just hear the scheme once and move on. Instead, he builds five learning opportunities into every install:

Classroom install – players hear the call, concept, and reasoning.
Walkthrough (normal formations) – the defense runs the call against base sets.
Walkthrough (oddities) – the next day, the call gets repped against empty, motion, unbalanced, and other curveballs.
Practice reps – full-speed execution in team sessions.
Film review – players see themselves in action, connecting mistakes to fixes.

This layered approach respects the fact that athletes learn differently. Some need to hear it, others need to see it, and some only grasp it after making a mistake first.

Teaching the Whole, Coaching the Parts

Even in-season, Bauder sticks to the principle of whole-group installs. Tuesday scouting reports start with the “big picture”, the why behind each call. Only then do position coaches split into groups to refine their specific responsibilities.

The result? Every player hears the same message, the same terminology, and the same reasoning. That consistency is a significant advantage when the defense adjusts during a game.

Simplicity Frees Speed

What appears to be a complex, pressure-filled system is actually built on clarity. By tying every new wrinkle to something familiar, Bauder gives his players confidence.

“If we can teach it to the kids like, ‘This is no different we’re just calling it to a different variable,’ you can get 10 out of 11 to think of it as the exact same call you put in three weeks ago. You are working magic” Bauder says.

When the game speeds up, simplicity wins. The defense isn’t bogged down with new language or overloaded with unrelated schemes. They’re playing fast, aggressively, and freely.

Takeaway for Coaches

The lesson here is simple: don’t confuse volume with teaching. More calls don’t make a defense better, better recall does. Start with a parent concept. Teach variations as “same as.” Reinforce it five different ways. And keep the language consistent.

The result is what every coach wants: players who think less, react faster, and execute with confidence.